


When You Fall

by Sauric



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sam Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 07:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6646963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauric/pseuds/Sauric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean looks after Castiel following his fall from Heaven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post on tumblr: http://picturesquegoddess.tumblr.com/post/55314285691/30-day-otp-challenge-day-17-spooning-day-16
> 
> If you have a problem with how I do the possessive with Cas' name (like that) I did get in touch with an English professor and was informed that Cas' and Cas's would both be considered correct but by different professional groups. So I did my grammatical research, thanks. I'm sticking with it.

The moment the angels had started falling, Sam had finally started breathing again and all of Dean's focus remained on his little brother instead of on the flashes of light crashing to the ground. But as the dust settled and they returned to the bunker, Dean's thoughts and fears all turned to one thing: Cas. They had neither seen nor heard a single thing from or about him since he'd left that day.

What had happened? Where was he now? How was he even supposed to find his way home? Because that's what the bunker is now, home. It provides a constant in their lives, different from Bobby's, different from the Impala. It's theirs and Cas belongs here, too.

Two weeks after the angels fell, the phone finally rings at three in the morning. And while Dean hadn't been sleeping by any means, he was still bleary-eyed as he reached for it, hoping it wasn't an emergency at this hour.

"Hello?" Dean's voice sounded hoarse, even to his ears.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean nearly dropped the phone, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

"Cas?"

"Yes Dean."

Dean blew out a relieved breath. "Oh, thank God, Cas! Or thank somebody, I guess. Are you okay? Did you fall? Where are you?"

"Yes, I fell, Dean. I....I believe I will be okay..." A hitch in Cas' breath caught Dean's attention, but he charged on, "...given that I plunged to Earth at a high rate of speed. I am...at Biggerson's in town. The nice lady is letting me use their phone."

Dean shot upright, scrambling to tug on a pair of jeans and sniffing at the plaid shirt he'd picked up from the floor. "Hold on, Cas. I'll be there soon. Stay on the phone with me."

"Yes, Dean." Cas' voice was quiet.

Dean stuck his head into Kevin's room briefly but seemed to think twice, leaving him to sleep, at least for the moment. Sam's room was the next stop, and he shook his brother awake, the Sasquatch giving an inelegant snort as he dragged himself from the depths of sleep. "Wha...?"

"Sam, it's Cas!" Dean said, pointing to the phone against his ear. "I have to go pick him up in town. You gonna stay or go?"

"Go," Sam replied, grabbing for clean clothes from a pile in a basket.

"Okay Cas, you still with me?"

"Yes, Dean." Cas' voice sounded even smaller than before, and Dean sucked in a worried breath.

"I'm going to hand you off to Sam, stay with us, man."

"Yes, Dean."

Dean scrambled into the Impala, barley giving Sam time to buckle up before he was tearing down the road and ignoring every speed limit to get to Biggerson's.

"Dean, slow down, he'll still be there if you drive a little slower!" Sam bit out as Dean took a sharp curve a hair too fast, the tires squealing. Dean ignored him, getting to Biggerson's in two-thirds the usual time.

He could see Cas inside, leaning on the counter wearily with the phone pressed to his ear as Sam let him know they were there. Dean threw the Impala into park and bolted in, shouting Cas' name as he hung up the phone, and Cas turned to face him, stumbling tiredly over his own feet. As he laid eyes on Dean, his lower lip trembled.

"Dean, I-I'm...I apologize. I got lost and had to give up and walk back to town. I tried to find my way, but I couldn't--"

Dean cut him off, stepping forward to enfold the now-human Cas in his arms. "Cas, it's okay, man. I was waiting for you to call. I was waiting. I got you now, it's okay." His hands ran up and down Cas' spine as he held him, and Cas let loose a choked, broken sound before clutching the front of Dean's shirt and breaking down into heart-wrenching sobs.

Dean glanced up at the worried-looking cashier, flashing her a small smile and mouthing, "Thank you." His hand patted Cas briefly against the back of his head. "Hey Cas, let's go home."

Dean guided Cas out to the car, but as it became clear Cas wasn't going to let go, he motioned to Sam. "Can you drive?" Sam's brows rose, but after a glance at the weeping fallen angel clutching at Dean, he nodded, and Dean helped Cas into the back seat.

Their return to the bunker was at a more sedate pace, and stepping inside with Cas, Dean finally managed to push Cas back to get another look at him in the light of the bunker. Cas was filthy, shivering, thin, and Dean felt his heart clench.

"Are you hurt?"

Dean had never seen Cas cry before. He'd never seen a human cry this much before at all, and Dean glanced at Sam before looking back at Cas, his heart hurting over the fact that the two people who meant the most to him were so broken and there was so little he could do to fix it. Cas' tear-streaked face finally peeked up at Dean before motioning at his belly.

"I...my stomach aches. I first felt a stabbing pain, now it's just...hunger."

Dean blinked in surprise. Hunger. Of course Cas was hungry, Cas was human now and probably had eaten very little since he'd fallen. It certainly explained how gaunt he was. Finally a nudge from Sam jolted him. "Food! You need food, let's get you something to eat," he rambled, pushing Cas into the kitchen.

Dean eventually detached Cas and sat him down with one last sad glance backwards as tears continued to course down his cheeks, leaving wet tracks. He registered Sam saying he'd set up a room for Cas and find him some clean clothes, and Dean waved a hand in his general direction. "Wake Kevin for help; let him know Cas is here." He grabbed a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and the jar of grape jelly, throwing a sandwich together and setting it in front of Cas.

"Eat." He grabbed apple juice from the fridge and poured a glass, setting it in Cas' reach as well. Four sandwiches and half a bottle of juice later, Cas was finally no longer hungry, but he remained seated, his fingers flexing in and out of restless fists.

"Let's go get you cleaned up, Cas," Dean broke the silence and gently ran one finger along the beard growth along Cas' jaw. He looked up, startled, and Dean withdrew his hand. "I'll run you a bath."

He pulled Cas to the bathroom and settled him on the closed toilet lid, running the tub full of warm water and pointing out his soap and shampoo. "You can use my stuff," he said, his eyes landing on the small pile of clothing Sam had left in the bathroom--a soft, worn pair of Dean's old sweats and his stretched and faded Led Zeppelin tee. "When you're done and dressed, I'll help show you how to shave."

Cas nodded and Dean stepped out, but he couldn't force himself to leave. He leaned against the door, listening.

At first, he only heard soft sniffling and the rustle of clothing, but his heart leaped to his throat when Cas cried out in pain. He knocked on the door. "Cas?" No reply, he knocked louder. "Cas, I'm coming back in." Cas was curled up on himself, still sitting but only half out of his trench coat and clutching his arms.

"Cas?" Dean reached out and carefully touched his shoulder, and Cas flinched, Dean jerking back. "I-I'm sorry, Cas, I didn't mean to--"

"It hurts, Dean," he whined low in his throat. "My back, it hurts..."

Dean let loose a shaky breath. "You can't stay in those clothes, Cas. They're filthy." He pressed his lips together in a thin line. "I...I can help if you'd like."

A few moments passed and Dean was starting to consider that maybe he should leave when Cas gave a short nod and slowly unfolded himself, standing.

Dean took a deep breath and steeled himself before reaching out to gently ease the trench coat off of his thin shoulder, shuddering at the whimpering whine Cas let loose and dropping it in a heap on the floor. Coming around in front of him, he reached for the buttons on his shirt, slowly undoing them one by one before pushing the shirt off, pausing at every unhappy noise Cas made, to drop it into the growing pile on the floor. Cas whimpered again and Dean circled behind him, gasping at the sight that met him.

Two thick, jagged scars spread down Cas' back, angry red from his shoulders to more than halfway down, fading bruising still visible around the edges. "Cas..." Dean croaked out sadly, and Cas flinched.

"It's ugly, isn't it?"

"It looks painful, no wonder you're hurting."

Cas was quiet again for a few moments longer. "It's mostly muscle pain now. From what's no longer there."

Dean grimaced before crouching to rummage under the sink. "Get your pants off and get in the tub. I can help with that....if you'd like."

The sound of rustling fabric and the soft thump as it landed on the floor nearly made Dean jump out of his skin, and he tried his best to focus on searching for the small bottle of arnica and lavender oil under the sink.

"I would...like that, please, Dean."

Dean waited until the sound of water lapping at the sides of the tub stopped and he turned to find Cas curled in the bottom, shoulders hunched forward and scars on display. Luckily nothing else was on display, and Dean blew out a breath, kneeling by the tub. He snatched a clean washcloth from the basket and squeezed a dollop of his body wash on it, passing it to Cas and grabbing the shampoo. "Wash up and I'll wash your hair. Then we'll do your back." As Cas discreetly scrubbed at his skin, Dean focused on the shampoo in Cas' hair, working it into a lather. Geez, Cas was going to need a haircut too. Later, though. He detached the shower head, gently rinsing away suds and finally gently moved Cas where he needed him. Pouring a little oil in his palm, he held it for a moment to warm it before spreading it across Cas' shoulders. As his fingers began to work into knotted muscles, Cas groaned, and Dean paused. "Sorry, does it hurt?"

Cas shook his head. "No, it feels very...nice." Fuck, Cas couldn't keep making noises like that! Except he did, and by the time Dean had him pliant and relaxed, he couldn't stand fast enough to turn away and grab a towel. Now was not a good time for that, not with Cas so vulnerable.

"Dry off and get dressed. Then I'll show you how to shave."

Fifteen minutes and minimal blood loss later, Cas was clean and dry, shaved and swaying tiredly on his feet.

"Let's get you to bed," Dean suggested, and Cas could only nod weakly, following after him to the room Sam and Kevin had prepared. "Well, this is you, man."

Cas stared into the room, gripping the door frame with one hand and Dean turned to go.

A hand on his sleeve stopped him.

"Cas?"

A glance hazarded at Cas' face told him that the tears had started up again. Alarm shot through Dean's gut. "Cas, what's wrong?"

" I'm sorry, Dean. I don't...I don't want to sleep alone. Wh-when I was lost, I would only sleep when exhaustion claimed me and it was too much to stay awake any longer. A-and then..." Cas swallowed hard. "I would never sleep long before nightmares would wake me." His voice dropped into a quiet whine.

Dean's brow creased and he twisted his hand to grab Cas' fingers. "You...you can stay with me tonight."

Cas' head jerked up. "Are you certain I would not be imposing any more than I already have?"

Dean reached up and gently swiped the tears from Cas' cheeks. "You're not an imposition, Cas. I need you."

Cas averted his eyes. "I'm not an angel anymore, Dean. I have no powers."

Dean tilted Cas' chin up until he met Dean's green eyes with his blue ones. "I still need you."

He led Cas to his room, settling back into the messy blankets after stripping his jeans and flannel and leaving half of the bed for the former angel. "C'mon Cas, I'm tired, man. Get in here."

Cas' weight sank the mattress down and he carefully eased onto the bed beside Dean, curling on his side facing away from the hunter. Dean could still feel anxiety rolling off of Cas in waves and after a few minutes, he could hear more faint sniffling. Dean scooted forward, tugging Cas back against his chest and into his arms. "C'mere , Cas. I got you." Cas' fingers wrapped around Dean's wrist and he sobbed harder, for himself, for his brothers and sisters, for everything he had lost. Dean couldn't bring himself to even do his usual grumbling against cuddling and chick flick moments after that.

"Why are you helping me?" Cas' voice was tiny.

Dean had almost dropped off, but he jerked awake at that. "I told you, Cas. I need you."

"But--"

Dean cut him off, tugging Cas' chin up as he craned over him and pressing a sleepy kiss to Cas' mouth. Cas froze.

Shit. Why had Dean done that?

Dean was about to pull away when Cas responded, pressing into the kiss, chaste and sweet. When Dean finally did pulled back, Cas eyed him in wonder. "Dean..."

"I need you, Cas. We can talk about this more in the morning, but I'm beat now. I need you, okay?"

Cas nodded. "Okay." He licked his chapped lips, took a breath, and finally replied, "I need you, too, Dean."

Dean smiled sleepily. "Good. Now go to sleep." He pulled Cas closer.

That night, curled up in Dean's arms, Cas had no nightmares.

The next morning, when Sam poked his head in to alert Dean that Cas was not in his room this morning and was nowhere to be found, he paused, spotting the two of them curled up together, and rolled his eyes before backing out of the room, muttering under his breath, "It's about time."


End file.
